Ralph Metzner was at the forefront of the psychedelic movement since its beginning in the mid 1960s. He was researching the therapeutic potential of psilocybin and LSD before the general public was even aware it existed. In the 1970s his exploration reoriented toward transformations of consciousness induced by practices such as yoga, meditation, alchemy, and new psychotherapeutic methods using deep altered states. Later on, he became intensely interested in shamanic practices of indigenous Mesoamerican and Amazonian peoples.